Many gym sets in use today have swings whose seat, instead of being a rigid platform, is a flexible strap which, when suspended by chains from the cross-bar of a gym set, forms a sling in which the child can sit comfortably. Such a flexible swing seat has a definite advantage over conventional rigid swing seats because if a moving seat happens to strike a child, the impact will not cause serious injury to the child. Also, a sling-type seat conforms to the rider's body and tends to retain the rider on the seat. Still further, the seat is more comfortable than a rigid platform-type seat.
One prior sling-type seat of which we are aware comprises a flexible rectangular strap having a pair of inextensible flexible connector members such as metal strips or chains captured by the strap adjacent to the front and rear edges thereof and extending the full length of the strap. A pair of rigid wire hangers are anchored to corresponding ends of those straps at the opposite ends of the seat, those hangers being suspended by chains from an overhead support so as to position the seat above the ground. An example of such a seat is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,897,056.
That seat is disadvantaged, however, in that it still presents some danger to children because of the rigid wire hangers which are present at the opposite ends of the seat. Those hangers are fully exposed so that if the seat is moving and one of the hangers strikes a child, the hanger can cause injury to the child. Also, the connections between the hangers and the inextensible members extending along the seat are more or less exposed and constitute pinch points which can injure the fingers of a child sitting on the seat.
A somewhat similar seat is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,478,410. This seat avoids the need for separate metal connector members in the seat and separate wire hangers by threading the seat suspension chains through integral tubes in the seat and linking the free lower end of each chain to the opposite chain just above the seat so that the chains themselves form flexible hangers. While this seat avoids the disadvantages of the first-mentioned one, it has pinch points just above the seat where the chains are linked together. Also, the links which releasably connect the chains at those locations are separate small riveted parts which are relatively expensive to make and can become lost.